Careersphere: the Careers podcast by the University of Stirling

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team. Each month during the academic year, we will bring you a chat with an expert in their field, many of whom are Stirling alumni. They will be sharing how they got to where they are, and their top tips when it comes to making career decisions.

In our first new interview of the 2026-27 academic year, Careers Consultant Rish Baruah meets Stirling alumna Niru Dorrian, a Marine Biology graduate who has built a career on marine conservation, ecological project management and environmental compliance, amongst other things. We talk to Niru about his career, building networks and supporting others, ethical AI and much more.

Massive thanks to Niru for sharing his time and thoughts. If you are a Stirling student or graduate, then do log into Stirling Careers Hub to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and get inspiration for your next steps. You can also find event updates and vacancies of the week by visiting us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to a new series of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team! Each month during the academic year, we will bring you a chat with an expert in their field, many of whom are Stirling alumni. They will be sharing how they got to where they are, and their top tips when it comes to making career decisions.

To start the new series, Careers Consultant Rish Baruah looks back over our previous episodes, to revisit some of the wisdom and knowledge shared by our previous guests, including:

• Choosing a career
• Graduate schemes vs smaller firms
• Your personal brand
• And much much more!

Massive thanks to all of our guests over the first two series. If you are a Stirling student or graduate, then do log into Stirling Careers Hub to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and get inspiration for your next steps. You can also find event updates and vacancies of the week by visiting us on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Are you graduating in the summer of 2026? Do you have your next move lined up, or are you currently applying for jobs or courses?

In this special episode of Careersphere, Jisc's Labour Market Analyst Charlie Ball sits down for a chat with Careers Consultants Rish, Lauren and Emily, covering the reality of the graduate jobs market in 2026. In part 2:

• What is the picture in the Scottish job market?
• Can I really have a career as a freelancer?
• SMEs - the jobs that you don't always see
• Is AI going to stop me from getting a graduate job?

Dr Charlie Ball is a public-facing expert on UK graduate employment, who has contributed to papers, presentations and policy documents relating to the UK jobs market, with a specific focus on outcomes for UK university students and graduates.

A big thank you to Charlie for sharing his time and expertise. In case you missed it, Part 1 of this discussion is already in your podcast feeds.

You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Students and graduates can log into ⁠⁠TARGETconnect⁠⁠ to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and get inspiration for your next steps.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Are you graduating in the summer of 2026? Do you have your next move lined up, or are you currently applying for jobs or courses?

In this special episode of Careersphere, Jisc's Labour Market Analyst Charlie Ball sits down for a chat with Careers Consultants Rish, Lauren and Emily, covering the reality of the graduate jobs market in 2026. In part 1:

• Is it all doom and gloom?
• Are job prospects better for graduates?
• Where can I find jobs in the current market?
• What is the situation for international graduates?

Dr Charlie Ball is a public-facing expert on UK graduate employment, who has contributed to papers, presentations and policy documents relating to the UK jobs market, with a specific focus on outcomes for UK university students and graduates.

A big thank you to Charlie for sharing his time and expertise. Part 2 of this discussion will be in your podcast feeds adjacent to this episode.

You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on Instagram and LinkedIn. Students and graduates can log into ⁠TARGETconnect⁠ to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and get inspiration for your next steps.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to Series 2 of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team!

This month's guest is Matt Turpin, who combines working as a lecturer at a further education college, with his roles as an editor of a 'hyperlocal' magazine, and as a journalist and writer.

Careers Consultant Rish Baruah speaks to Matt about how he combines multiple occupations and hobbies into a single 'portfolio' career, and how passion combined with entrepreneurial thinking can open up career opportunities. Matt also shares his top tips for anyone thinking about working in the creative industries, or who wants to make a career out of something that they enjoy.

Big thanks to Matt for joining us. You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on Instagram and LinkedIn. Students and graduates can log into ⁠TARGETconnect⁠ to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and get inspiration for your next steps.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to Series 2 of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team!

This month's guest is Arundati Dandapani, a multi-certified, multi-award-winning leader and the Founder and CEO of Generation1.ca, a social enterprise and nonprofit professional community association advancing immigrant inclusion and empowerment powered by data-driven innovation and storytelling across North America.

Careers Consultant Rish Baruah speaks to Arundati about the power of storytelling, and how that not only brought her to Stirling for her MLitt Publishing degree, but also provides a 'Golden Thread' connecting her various roles as a Founder, CEO, Professor, speaker and author.

• Connect with Arundati on LinkedIn
• Follow Generation1.ca
• Sign up for Culturally Significant, Arundati's monthly newsletter

Big thanks to Arundati for joining us. You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on Instagram and LinkedIn. Students and graduates can log into TARGETconnect to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and get inspiration for your next steps.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to Series 2 of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team!

This month we are doing things slightly differently, with a two-part discussion for all students who are completing their studies in the Summer of 2026. We bring you the lowdown on some of the key issues facing finalists and postgraduate students right now:

• What is it really like looking for a job in 2026? We are hearing a lot about a slow economy and how there aren't any jobs to apply for, so we take a look at the available evidence
• Is AI destroying my chances of getting a job? Are graduate jobs really being taken by AI, and are LLMs making applications easier or harder? We attempt to separate the fact from fiction
• What happens if I graduate without having a job to go to, and is the situation worse if I am an international student? What are the options available to me after I graduate, and what exactly is a 'graduate level job'? Most importantly, what is your purpose?

This discussion is brought to you by your Careers Consultants Rish Baruah, Lauren Ferguson and Emily Sandwell, looking at the latest evidence and research.

This is a BIG discussion, so we have split it into two parts for you; part 1 is available alongside this episode.

You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Students and graduates can log into ⁠TARGETconnect⁠ to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and find out more about My Stirling Award.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to Series 2 of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team!

This month we are doing things slightly differently, with a two-part discussion for all students who are completing their studies in the Summer of 2026. We bring you the lowdown on some of the key issues facing finalists and postgraduate students right now:

• What is it really like looking for a job in 2026? We are hearing a lot about a slow economy and how there aren't any jobs to apply for, so we take a look at the available evidence
• Is AI destroying my chances of getting a job? Are graduate jobs really being taken by AI, and are LLMs making applications easier or harder? We attempt to separate the fact from fiction
• What happens if I graduate without having a job to go to, and is the situation worse if I am an international student? What are the options available to me after I graduate, and what exactly is a 'graduate level job'? Most importantly, what is your purpose?

This discussion is brought to you by your Careers Consultants Rish Baruah, Lauren Ferguson and Emily Sandwell, looking at the latest evidence and research.

This is a BIG discussion, so we have split it into two parts for you; part two will be available alongside this episode.

You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on Instagram and LinkedIn. Students and graduates can log into TARGETconnect to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and find out more about My Stirling Award.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to Series 2 of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team!

This month's guest is our very own Anne Cumming, Employer Engagement Manager within Student Skills and Employability at the University of Stirling.

Anne talks to Careers Consultant Rish Baruah about what 'work-based learning' actually means for students at the university, and how her background as a Stirling alumna inspired her to create partnerships with local and national employers.

Anne also shares news of a couple of events that are coming up in January and February 2026, that will be useful to students who are thinking about part-time jobs, internships or graduate opportunities.

Big thanks to Anne for joining us. You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠. Students and graduates can log into ⁠⁠⁠TARGETconnect⁠⁠⁠ to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and find out more about My Stirling Award.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.

Welcome to Series 2 of Careersphere, the podcast by the University of Stirling Careers Team!

This month's guest is Ekaterina Petrova, a recent graduate of BSc Management at the University of Stirling, who is now working in Digital Transformation as part of the NatWest graduate programme.

Ekaterina talks to Careers Consultant Rish Baruah about the benefits of a graduate scheme, and how she got her place. She also talks about the activities she did at university, including a placement, part-time work and volunteering.

Finally, find out if Ekaterina's childhood dream of becoming a film actor helped her to achieve her current ambitions.

Big thanks to Ekaterina for joining us. You can find out more information and updates by visiting our pages on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠. Students and graduates can log into ⁠⁠TARGETconnect⁠⁠ to access careers resources, view vacancies and events, and find out more about My Stirling Award.

Please note that any advertisements that you hear are likely to be based on your own preferences, and are not controlled or endorsed by the Careers Service or the University of Stirling.